The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1887-09-30
ON THE WING.
A Mankato Tourist Describes Ride
Through Kansas.
DENVER, Coll, Sept. %, 1887.


rainfall and fertility; for at Pierceville
on the A. 7. & S. Fe r. r. | asked man
if they did much in the cattle business
there now. "Not very much he said,
the land is most all taken up and we
can't" Well, do they raise considerable
on the land taken up? "No, we can't
raise much" Perhaps you can when
that "Hop Bitters" ditch gets into oper-
alton. He shook his head as much asto
say with Horace "J,tdeaS credta non ego y
The next town belonged to the prairie
dogs, and they seemed just as expectant
as the rest of them. But at Garden City
the hungry fellows came out to the sta
ton by the hundred. / asked some la
dies who boarded the train here "what
do all these people do?" "Boom! boom!"
"What are they anyhow and what are
they doing here?" go, loafers, most of
them have some town lots to sell and
are waiting for purchasers"
Farther on at Lakin / addressed a
couple of residents thus: "What business
do all these people follow, or what do
they do for living anyway" The re-
spectacle looking resident turned away
without answer, and the roustabout
looking resident answered "a little of
everything" l told them about the
"boom" replies | received at Garden
City, and then the respectable looking
resident piped up mournfully, mot
much boom here" and added "we have
been trying to get a living without doing
anything, but guess we'll have to 60 to
work before long" My conductor, for
my four fellow travellers got out at Gar
den City, said these towns were full of
people who have bought property, and
are just waiting for gulls to fly in from
the East to unload on, and he said it was
very clear the "fools are not all dead
yet"
This 'boom" reminds me that 2 or 3
years ago | saw glowing circulars sent
out by the A. I. q S. F. r. r., giving i'm
most glowing colors the facility with
which fortunes could be made in this
modern paradise by raising sugar cane,
etc. Verify, there is nothing that man
bankers after so much as to be hum
plugged.
At Coolidge we got the best supper,
yes, the best meal since starting, and /
prophesy the best on the trip, and thence
went to my lonely couch, for we were to
reach Pueblo at 1915; so saw no more
of the glories of the "Santa Fe route"
1 found Pueblo quite different from the
sleepy half-Mexican half-Indian town
l had imagined. During the hour and
a half of my stay, was the continued
hustle of arrival and departure to Lead
vile, Silverton, Dillon, Trinidad, etc.
But our departure for Denver was more
embarrassed than all the rest, for when
the Denver & Tfo Grand steamed I'm
from Trinidad we soon found the cars all
crowded, the aisles soon filled up and
then the platforms, while the old stand
ers fairly howled for another coach !;
while the said had been provided at this
point, after 20 minutes car was hitched
on and we piled in to find it villalnous
excursion car, or Seattle car" as some
called it. Colorado Springs was ahead
with lots of passengers waiting, and when
we had arrived an "emigrant sleeper"
was added to our train, when it soon APP
peared that our engine could not haul
us up to the divide. Then skirmishing
commenced for another horse and driv-
err. In due time an engineer was routed
out of his bed, steam got up and his
horse tackled up and hitched on as a
leader. By this time the sun began to
show the head of snow capped noun
tains, and from that time discomforts
were somewhat relieved by the noun
tain scenery, till we reached the top at
Palmer Lake, which is fed by small
column of water spouting out of the mid
die of the lake to the height of forty
feet. Finally we reached the magnifi-
cent Union depot at Denver some two
hours late. Thence l went to the Ameri-
can, because my guide" read 'Tis fam
Gus for setting the best table in the West,
and for once the "guide" told the truth
| think. This hotel, as well as all 9TH
ers, was so jammed and crowded--though
Denver is hotel town-with Odd Eel
lows, firemen and other eXcursionists,
that | was fortunate to get room in the
"Inter Ocean Annex" across the street
with Boulder real estate man who
wouldn't try to farm in country where
you can't get regular water supply by
irrigation" Little farming he ever did
anyway.
Well, | can't write much more, Den
yer is growing rapidly and has great
fortune unquestionably with the vast
mineral resources tributary.
Escorted by Hon. 0. p. Whitcomb,
Supt. of Denver Public Sampling Works
and formerly State Auditor of Minneso-
tn, and in company with Sherwood
Haugh and 6 or other Minnesota Odd
Fellows, went through the Argo Smell
ter, seeing all the processes the ore goes
through, till it is turned out in the silver
or gold brick. The big man of our COM
pany could Just raise gold brick worth
$50, 900. Next morning was the parade
of the New York firemen, hauling their
famous old engine Veteran, and escorted
by the more famous Seventh Regiment
band.
In the afternoon was the grand parade
of the Odd Fellows, witnessed by the
biggest crowd Denver ever saw. Per.
haps not though, for in the evening al
the exposition grounds saw the great.
est crowd / ever witnessed, listening tc
the matchless music of one of the best
bands in America.
close with the remark that / secured
the best man flor the place. in Denver tC
represent the Standard Fibre Ware Co
in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New
Mexico. No / won't close till / tell yor
that saw Frank Howe and had severa
hours pleasant talk with him; parting
with him at the train, for to tell the
truth, the greater part of this was writ
ten on the way home. Frank has ha6
plenty of rough knocks and many mar
row escapes, and done lots of hard work
with small results he thinks, but he has
got to be good deal of man and il
interested in some fine mining proper
ties. M. u. WILLARD.
| Good Results i'm Every Case.